TROY, Mo. – Lincoln County’s last-remaining Jane Doe has been identified after more than four decades. The breakthrough is thanks to teamwork, modern science, and some sleuthing students.
In March 1978, a hunter discovered a body in the Mississippi River near Elsberry, Missouri. Lincoln County authorities retrieved the body and took the remains to the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office.
An autopsy at the time could only identify the remains as a white female between the ages of 30 and 40. There were no signs of trauma and the cause of death was said to be drowning. The manner of death was classified as “undetermined.” Coroners estimated the individual died approximately four months prior, based on body decomposition.
The person was wearing a cat’s eye ring and had a tattoo that appeared to say “Dee” on her left forearm. Investigators were unable to successfully identify the woman.
The remains were buried in the Troy City Cemetery with a gravestone reading, “Lincoln County Jane Doe.” The case was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System database in 2009.
“When I took over in 2021, we had three unidentified bodies, and our goal was to get everyone a name,” Lincoln County Coroner Dan Heavin said.
Heavin had Jane Doe’s remains were exhumed in October 2023 for testing in the hopes of solving the mystery.
Anthropology students and faculty at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) conducted osteological and dental analysis, identified samples for DNA extraction, and submitted them to private lab Othram Inc. for forensic genome sequencing. Othram was able to build a genealogical profile of the female, which helped generate new leads in the investigation.
The Lincoln County Coroner’s Office contacted an individual who said they had a family member matching the description of Jane Doe. This person said she disappeared in late 1977.
After collecting and testing a familial DNA sample, the coroner’s office identified the remains as those of 15-year-old Helen Renee Groomes, who was last seen in Ottumwa, Iowa, on the night of her birthday.
“We exhumed the body and had Dr. Jennifer from Southeast Missouri come up for the exhumation,” Heavin said. “As we’re doing it, she immediately said, ‘This is a teenage female. This was not a 30- or 40-year-old female.’ We were just like, ‘Wow, we’ve been searching for the wrong female for 47 years!’”
The cause of Groomes’ death is under investigation in a newly reopened case.